Motherboard upgrade

[DogStar]

At the moment I have an intel SE440bx-2 (genuine) mobo.
After my repairs Intel supplied a P III850 which I believe is the max this mobo supports( after bios updates). I am running this with a Leadtek A170 DDR T. This card supports agp 4x (spec 2.0) whereas my current mobo supports agp 2x (spec 1.0) but intel built in the 3.3volt spec with this board(required for spec 2.0--as I understand).
In a few weeks I shall have some spare cash and wish to upgrade to a better mobo that supports full agp 4x, as well as a CPU upgrade in the future. And also It would also be good to have a mobo with with some O'C capabilities. I've done a bit of huntin' on google and figured maybe an ASUS TUSL2-C.
I know that there are better options available but I will be on a limited budget.
Any thoughts or suggestions muchly appreciated

 

[DogStar]

hhmm

Obviously not.
Don't know if my original post is accurate, but I figure it must be.
I was thinking about a mobo that supports the PIV (1.6 onwards).
I really need some ideas as there is a plethora of mobos and I ain't too savvy with with all the ins and outs of mobos.
If anyone has any suggestions feel free to post.
(don't make me beg )

 

[Didou]

That TUSL2-C is nice & it must be pretty cheap now. Just make sure it's the one that supports the Tualatin P3 & Celeron processors. That'll leave you a little headroom for upgrading a few months later.

If you have the means though, I'd go for AthlonXP xombo but that's gonna be a bit more pricey.

 

[DogStar]

Thx

If you have the means though, I'd go for AthlonXP xombo

Which Athlon and mobo would you suggest.
From what I understand (probably wrong) the Athlons can run hot.
I figure my budget would be around $1000 (australian).

 

[Didou]

Re: Thx

Originally posted by DogStar

Which Athlon and mobo would you suggest.
From what I understand (probably wrong) the Athlons can run hot.
I figure my budget would be around $1000 (australian).

They do but they are made to support those high temps.

An AthlonXP 1800+ is the sweet spot right now @ 105$ -> http://3dspotlight.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php/page_id=209/ut=d9880275f186ecc6/

The ePoX EP-8KHA+ is really nice & cheap @ 89.99$ -> http://3dspotlight.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php/page_id=40/ut=d9880275f186ecc6/

Add some PC2100 to it & you're good to go.

 

[Rick]

Re: Thx

Originally posted by DogStar

Which Athlon and mobo would you suggest.
From what I understand (probably wrong) the Athlons can run hot.
I figure my budget would be around $1000 (australian).

If you've got 1000 dollars for an upgrade, you might as well get that new processor + motherboard combo then. This is a good chance to revamp your system.. (if needed)

The Athlons do run hot.. But so do any other fast processors. I think that is something we are just going to have to get used to for the time being until developers find some better methods of lowering temps. Large, quality heatsinks for P4 and Athlons are recommended highly.. Dont' forget to calculate that into your price tag.

As for boards, look specifically for the VIA 266a chipset, or the nForce (maybe). There's also a VIA 333 soemthing or other, but I'm not familiar with it since I've been out of the hardware scene for over a month.

 

[JAV]

I'm by no means an expert on this, but:

1. You'll need a board that will fit your case, & will stay cool in that case (fan set-up is important).

2. USB & ieee1394 Firewire ports are a *must* (they are the future).

3. It needs to be compatible w/your HD, CD/RW/DVD, video/sound cards & modem (40pin, 80pin, PCI &/or AGP) or you'll need that new too.

4.How much do you want to spend on memory? It can get expensive for some boards.

5. The more 'expansion' slots, ports, etc. the better (as long as it fits the case & will stay cool).

Just a few things to consider & you'll have to research your system & the components you want to 'transfer' to the new system for mobo compatibility.

Intel has some 'Utilities' that could help speed up what you have & check-out "CPUFSB" (type that in search) to speed things up too.

HTH,

 

[DogStar]

1.5 or 3.3 volt

Have been doing some research on mobos that I can get locally now, and a new hiccup has come into the equation.

I have been made aware of a problem upgrading your mobo to take a P4. Apparently a lot of the P4 mobo AGP ports will only accept 1.5 volt cards.You put in a 3.3 volt and as soon as you switch on, kiss your card and mobo goodbye. Some mobos have an inbuilt safety so this doesn't happen, some don't. From what I understand the card will have a "key" that will distinguish it as 1.5 volt, but this is not foolproof as some cards (sis I think) had the "key" but the cards were really 3.3 volts.
Sorry if I don't make much sense but my head is so full of stuff I've browsed I have trouble putting it into words.
I've tried to find out a surefire way to make sure and I happened across HardTecs4U which helped.
I would really like to get a P4 DDR mobo but can't seem to figure out if my Leadtek A170 will work or not. I've rung some comp shops and I think I confused them more as they weren't sure either. And Leadtek must not be able to read e-mails as they never bloody answer any I send.
If anyone has any ideas, it would be muchly appreciated.

p.s. thx 4 help so far

p.p.s.
nearly forgot.
Will I have to upgrade the PSU as well, as I believe the P4 has different power requirements. ( I can get an Asus P4B where it has some EZPlug so you can use your existing PSU-but board only supports Sdram)

 

[young&wild]

Are you opting for a pentium mobo upgrade or buying amd+mobo instead? Your Aus$1000 can squeeze in some more goodies like more DDR RAM, a good soundcard, after purchasing AMD processor + the mobo.

 

[DogStar]

I will be getting the xp1800+ , after reading some ( a lot) reviews.
The mobo I'm not sure of yet. My biggest problem is location and I'd rather get a mobo locally (than online or such) and that means my choices are somewhat diminished. Was looking at the Asus A7A266-E as I can use my existing dram and get the DDR later. If anyone has an ALI chipset and have applied the new driver set, let us know if better if you could.
Was thinking of upgrading vid card as well but will wait to see what eventuates with the Xabre .

 

[DogStar]

DIY

Should only be a few more weeks till I can upgrade.
I plan to attempt the upgrade myself as that way I can learn a bit more about the "ins" & "outs".
I'm sure some of the members have done this before, so if you have any basic tips or such, all help would be appreciated.
And yes I have researched about upgrading mobos and cpus, but you can never have enough of that "been there-done that" help.
Thanks

 

[Didou]

Backup all your important files onto a seperate HDD or a CD-RW. What OS do yo plan on installing ?

Don't forget to check out the OS Updates for your OS.

 

[DogStar]

My drive is partioned at the moment and I put everything I want to keep onto D.
I plan to re-install ME as I rather this (seen XP-but don't really like it).

 

[cabrone]

oh god, please dont use me, you are bound to run into problems right there. My advice (you dont have to take it lol): If you use your computer for gaming and entertainment get xp it is one of the most reliable windows os ive worked with aside from 2kpro which brings me to my next point. If you use the computer for work, and non gaming stuff i would recommend 2000 pro.

but me is just full of problems and can get very frustrating

 

[DogStar]

lol
My mum got new comp after this and it has XP.I always thought the blurb was "easier to use" but I reckon it takes you longer to get where you want.(and that ugly start button--I know you can change it --but), I haven't had any real major issues with ME (didn't they put out a "service pack" out for XP recently?), and gaming on ME is on par or better with other OS's (taking into consideration the mobo&vid card&mem&cpu&etc)and I've never had drastic probs that aren't really basic solutions.But then again upgrading the "heart" of my rig to another mobo/cpu combo will no doubtably raise different issues with the overall system. But till then I (not ashamed to state that I don't mind ME).